Students who have completed all their course work in the areas of Foundational Seminars and at least fifteen hours in their Academic Concentration may select the capstone thesis option to fulfill the requirements for their degree. Students work under the supervision of three faculty advisors (from at least two different academic disciplines, one of whom must be designated the Thesis Chair), and may begin work on the thesis project only after a capstone thesis proposal has been formally approved. The thesis may take the form of academic or applied research, or it may be a creative work. The capstone thesis must be of a nature to warrant six hours of graduate credit. In general, the projects should yield a written piece of work, although products such as artistic/musical creations also may be acceptable.

The Capstone Non-Thesis Option (6 hours)

This non-thesis option requires that, after completing the Foundational Seminars and the Academic Concentration, the student complete an additional six semester hours in research problems which requires products such as submission for publication of a book review (or other publishable review), an application (with abstract) to present a paper at a local or regional conference, or a major revision of a previously-written essay/paper in the program which will be submitted for publication to a refereed journal. Students selecting this option must also pass a comprehensive exam of all course work.

Students who choose the Non-Thesis Option may elect to take one or both of the following courses:

As part of the Capstone Non-Thesis Option, this course includes the preparation of either a professional conference paper presentation, a scholarly book review, or an extended and enhanced research paper which will be submitted for publication to a refereed journal, rather than a thesis, completed under the direction of a graduate faculty advisor. Variable credit from 1 to 3 hours, with a maximum of 3 hours that may be applied to the Capstone Non-Thesis Option.
MSCJ 6899—Non-Thesis Comprehensive Exam Preparation & Completion (Credits arranged)

As part of the Capstone Non-Thesis Option, this is a faculty directed independent study course for students who are preparing for and/or completing their comprehensive examination. Variable credit from 1 to 6 hours.